Nearly 600 acres burned as fourth day of Blue Mountain wildfire continues

A fire burning for the fourth consecutive day tripled in size in the last 24 hours on Blue Mountain at Lehigh Gap.

Officials say 577 acres have burned and dry conditions are making it difficult to get the flames under control.

Only 25 percent of the fire is contained, said Wesley Robinson, press secretary for the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. lehighvalleylive.com Tuesday afternoon.

By midday Monday, 180 acres of the mountain had burned and the fire was about 20 percent contained, officials reported.

Multiple agencies continue to work around the clock to battle the fire, which started Saturday near Route 248 in Lehigh Township. The fire was initially reported at 3:38 p.m., east of the eroded gap in Blue Mountain’s Kittatinny Ridge near the Lehigh River.

Responding crews include regional firefighters from Lehigh Township Volunteer Fire Co. and mutual aid departments, Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry and Pennsylvania Game Commission. Northampton County Emergency Management is also assisting at the scene.

A firefighter who was injured Monday was taken to an area hospital for treatment and has since been released, said Bob Kurilla, spokesman for the office that is part of the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. No other injuries were reported.

Jeremy Hamilton, the incident commander, posted on social media Monday night’s fire activity posed some challenges for on-scene resources. Crews at the top, along the Appalachian Trail, were able to keep the flames from crossing the ridge to the north near Carbon County. Others were able to stop the spread to the east above Timberline Road, he said.

“There will be many more days of hard work securing the perimeter and extinguishing hot spots,” Hamilton said.

The Appalachian Trail that runs through the area continues to be closed to the public.

Burning bans have temporarily entered into force in some counties. Visitors are asked to avoid the fire site due to the risk of hot spots and downed trees. However, the threat to the residences on Timberline Road has subsided, Hamilton said.

“People will still see bright trees and pockets of indoor activity,” he added. “Smoking will still be around for the foreseeable future. Personnel must remain on site and work and monitor conditions.”

Kurilla told lehighvalleylive.com if the dry conditions hold up without a “good soak,” crews are expected to remain on scene for at least the rest of the week.

The National Meteorological Service continues to predict warmer temperatures this week, rising into the upper 70s Wednesday, with winds increasing to 10 mph and gusts up to 20 mph in the Walnutport area.

Forecasters say there is a 20% chance of showers before 1pm on Wednesday, after mostly clear skies on Monday and Tuesday. The next chance of showers for the area is Sunday, according to the forecast.

Officials are using bulldozers to dig organic matter that is highly flammable around the perimeter of the flames to stop it from advancing. Kurilla described this as the “mop up” phase, meaning officials don’t expect the flames to advance further, despite only being 25 percent contained.

“Nice,” Kurilla said, they’re down. These are dead trees that can send burning embers across control lines, he said.

“They’re best thrown to the ground,” Kurilla said.

In addition, two helicopters are dropping hundreds of gallons of water from the Lehigh River along the edge of the fire, Kurilla said.

No structures were damaged by the fire. Eight structures, however, are listed as threatened by the fire, with crews assigned to protect them, officials said.

Blue Mountain Ski Resort in Palmerton, about 4 miles from the fire posted on his Facebook page would use pumps and water retention ponds to help fill fire tanks.

Great Northern Lehigh Room also launched a fundraiser with support from the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce to benefit local volunteer fire departments and emergency crews.

No point of origin or cause of the fire has been determined. Kurilla believes both will be determined at some point.

Human activity causes 99 percent of Pennsylvania’s wildfiresleading to the destruction of thousands of acres of state and private forests each year, according to DCNR.

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Pamela Sroka-Holzmann can be reached at [email protected].